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Mark Twain Was a Terrible Investor, Part One: The Legend of "Josh"
Today, Mark Twain is widely thought of as one of America's greatest authors -- but he was also, get this, a terrible investor. Inspired by his father…
1 year, 6 months ago
CLASSIC: How James Bond Created a Mexican Dia de los Muertos Tradition
The Day of the Dead is a longstanding traditional celebration in Mexico, and currently hundreds of thousands of people associate it with a gigantic p…
1 year, 6 months ago
What is Karaoke? Part Two: Going Global; Careful What You Sing
As the karaoke phenomenon became a global pastime, it likewise transformed to adapt to cultures outside of Japan. In the second part of this two-part…
1 year, 6 months ago
What is Karaoke? Part One: An Origin Story
Nowadays most people are at least generally familiar with the concept of karaoke -- technology allows you to sing along with your favorite songs, oft…
1 year, 6 months ago
CLASSIC: Did Richard Nixon Unwittingly Smuggle Drugs for Louis Armstrong?
It's become one of the strangest anecdotes in modern American history -- numerous sources will swear to you that, in a last-minute panic before reach…
1 year, 6 months ago
The Nebraska Episode
Let's be honest: when many Americans think of Nebraska, we immediately think of corn. Yet there's much more to the Cornhusker State than a single cro…
1 year, 6 months ago
Occupy Alcatraz!
Alcatraz! For a lot of us, this former island prison occupies an iconic space in the American zeitgeist. It's been home to some of the country's most…
1 year, 6 months ago
CLASSIC: 3 Times Society Refused to Accept New Books on Science
Progress versus preservation: It's one of the eternal dilemmas found throughout every instance of human civilization. Should we embrace disruptive th…
1 year, 6 months ago
The Ridiculous, Murky Origins of Pasta, Part Two: From Myth to the Modern Day
Today pasta is a worldwide phenomena, and the story of pasta's spread is, in a very real way, also a study of global trade and civilization. Tune in …
1 year, 6 months ago
The Ridiculous, Murky Origins of Pasta, Part One: Basic Ingredients, Delicious Results
Pasta is amazing. But where does the concept come from? In part one of this week's two-part series, Ben, Noel and Max delve into the origin of a simp…
1 year, 6 months ago